Callaway farmers market opens next week

The saw blade element was chosen for the Callaway Farmer’s Market logo because Callaway founder Pitt Callaway's first endeavor in Callaway was a sawmill in 1936, according to Ronnie Barnes, director of Waterfront Markets Inc. The sawmill was destroyed in a hurricane in 1938.

Photo Courtesy Waterfront Markets Inc.

By JACQUELINE BOSTICK / The News Herald

Published: Wednesday, November 21, 2012 at 05:07 PM.

CALLAWAY — Residents of Callaway soon will get a fresh taste of a local farmers market.

City of Callaway entered an agreement with Waterfront Markets’ Inc. to host a weekly farmers marke beginning next week.

“We’re hoping that this can be a community event that a lot of people get involved with to get fresh produce and to just enjoy looking at the different crafts,” said Tim Legare, director of Leisure Services at the city of Callaway.

The Callaway Community Farmers’ Market will be held on Thursdays from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Callaway Recreational Complex.

The market will focus on handcrafted, home baked and homegrown goods, a Waterfront Markets’ news release stated.

CALLAWAY — Residents of Callaway soon will get a fresh taste of a local farmers market.

City of Callaway entered an agreement with Waterfront Markets’ Inc. to host a weekly farmers marke beginning next week.

“We’re hoping that this can be a community event that a lot of people get involved with to get fresh produce and to just enjoy looking at the different crafts,” said Tim Legare, director of Leisure Services at the city of Callaway.

The Callaway Community Farmers’ Market will be held on Thursdays from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Callaway Recreational Complex.

The market will focus on handcrafted, home baked and homegrown goods, a Waterfront Markets’ news release stated.

Ronnie Barnes, director of Waterfront Markets Inc., said the location would provide a good amount of traffic for vendors.

“There are thousands of people that come and go in the complex,” Barnes said. “We’ll be there during the busiest times.”

The Callaway market is the latest expansion of the original St. Andrews Waterfront Farmers’ Market. Last year, the market opened the Grand Lagoon Waterfront Farmers Market in Panama City Beach on Sundays.

The city’s decision to host a farmers market came as a part of meeting a requirement set forth by the state Department of Agriculture after the city was awarded a $200,000 grant to help build a portion of the sports complex, Legare said.

“It will not create any revenue for the city; it’s more or less providing a service for the community,” he added.

Though the sports complex is located in the far eastern part of Callaway on State 22, vendor Jeff Robinson, 10-year woodworker and owner of Woodknots, is confident the park’s location would draw residents of peripheral areas like Wewahitchka, Blountstown, Mexico Beach and Tyndall Air Force Base to the market.

“There’s a big neighborhood,” Robinson said. “I’m looking forward to sharing my crafts with a lot of people; I think it will do good over there.”

Robinson said he also vends at St. Andrews and Grand Lagoon farmers’ markets.

Callaway Community Farmers’ Market will be open on Thursdays, beginning Nov. 29, at the Callaway Recreational Complex, 500 Callaway Parkway. The market will close for a winter break on Dec. 27 and reopen on Jan. 17.